How to Correct the Calendar Error Without a 13-Day Jump Recently we had a thread on the question of the calendar. It was sparked by an article in the Alaska Dispatch about Orthodox Christmas. It occurs to me: why not correct the calendar in this way. Those on the Old Calendar would simply not observe leap year for the next 13 leap years. This means that they would not add an extra day at the end of February as is usually done every 4 years, in leap years. For those on the Old Calendar, in the next leap year, 2016, Feb. 15/28 would be followed NOT by Feb 16/29 but by Feb 16/March 1. As a result, Dec 25/Jan 7, 2017 would arrive a day sooner than it would have. It would be, in fact, Dec. 25/Jan. 6, 2017 - In other words, Dec. 25 (Old Style) would fall on Jan 6, 2017 instead of Jan 7, 2017. In 2020, the same process would be repeated, and Old Style Christmas, 2021 would fall on Jan 5, 2021. After 13 leap years were skipped - that is, after 56 years - the error in the Julian Calendar would be corrected and those on the Old Calendar would be observing Christmas on the same day as those on the New Calendar. Thus the Calendar difference would be solved. The error in the calculation of Easter would be solved as well, because its caused by an error in the dating of the Spring Equinox, which would be corrected by this process but without much fuss. When Pope Gregorys astronomers proposed the Gregorian Calendar, the above method was put forward, in order to gradually implement the new calendar (the Gregorian calendar) and correct the error. At that time, the Julian Calendar was only off by 10 days. So it was proposed to skip 10 leap years, instead of making a sudden correction involving a jump of 10 days all at once. That was rejected, however, and 10 days were skipped all at once.
Posted on: Wed, 14 Jan 2015 06:16:39 +0000
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